Trial for Trenton men accused of planning murder on Myspace to begin this month

Exterior view of the new Mercer County Criminal Courthouse in Trenton on South Warren St, in Trenton, New JerseyMichael Mancuso/The Times

TRENTON - Trial is set to begin this month for one of four men accused of plotting on the social networking site Myspace to murder a fellow gang member they believed was an informant.

Keith Williams, 24, is scheduled to go on trial April 22 before Superior Court Judge Robert Billmeier.

Prosecutors and Williams’ defense attorney Mark Fury agreed that because he gave an eight-hour statement to police shortly after the murder, he should be tried separately from his three co-defendants.

Karim Sampson, John Murphy and Brandon Edwards will likely go to trial several months after the conclusion of Williams’ murder trial, Billmeier said.

All four men, who are members of the Sex Money Murder Bloods gang, allegedly sent messages to each other on Myspace to plan the murder of 20-year-old Arrell Bell, who they thought was a snitch. Bell, also known as Broadway or B-Way, was shot and killed in Stacey Park in May 2008.

Prosecutors said the men believed that Bell, who was also a gang member, was working with the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office to give a statement against Sampson who had been arrested alongside Bell and charged with burglary. Prosecutors said Bell was never working with their office.

The men are facing charges of conspiring to commit murder and retaliation against a witness and face 20 years in prison with 17 years of parole ineligibility.

Assistant Prosecutor Brian McCauley said trying Williams separately will likely speed up the trial, which was originally expected to take at least a month with all four defendants would be on trial together.

The state’s material witness in the case is Trenton police Detective Steve White, who led the investigation into the murder, McCauley said. They also anticipate bringing in a gang expert to testify in the case.